Noosa Property Blog

An informative space for those seeking to buy or sell property, specifically those in the Noosa Real Estate market.

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Good Agent... Bad Agent...

I made my clients homeless! Yes, I sold their Noosa Waters home so quickly they had not had time to search for their next home.  They were truly homeless!

Well, that was until I was pleasantly surprised when another local agency went above and beyond the necessary for me.

And I’m surprised that the experience was surprising! 

Years ago the majority of our local agents worked together and supported each other in real estate.  Many times an interagency sale was a team effort.  I recall days standing outside a property that had not matched a buyers expectation talking with the showing agent and brainstorming properties they had or other agencies had that might suit our buyer.  Unfortunately these days it seems many newer agents are less willing to work together or even conjunct on a listing.

Here’s my good agent/bad agent tale for this week:

J and B – friends and clients of mine having sold their home decided that Tewantin was their preferred relocation area.  Now while I have sold quite a few properties in Tewantin over the years, the last sale there was some time ago but, as any buyer new to any market will tell you, you only have to view 20-30 homes and you become somewhat of an expert in the market and recognise value for money as readily as an overpriced property.

After viewing numerous homes they were disappointed when a property they favoured was found to have significant structural damage and so failed to pass the building and pest inspection.

Another property was also to cause disappointment so they were still homeless and starting to despair.  I called into a Hang Loosa Noosa office in Tewantin to see if they had anything that would suit J and B. I told them the clients were desperate to find something, as they had to move out of their property in under 3 weeks.

The agents in the office gathered around and suggested a couple of properties – even several with another agency they thought could be suitable (just like the old days!). 

Nothing “hit the spot” for the buyers then the following day I received a phone call from one of the Hang Loosa Noosa agents – Christine Sharpe to tell me her Principal Chris Allen had just shown them a property 30 minutes before that could be the perfect property! It wasn’t even on the internet yet.

I was stoked.  I rushed over to view it and yes it was perfect for them. The property has just been listed by the agency.  The agents were still in the throes of contacting their own client base when they called me in on it also.  This is unheard of these days.  It has been my experience that agents now days want to get 100 per cent of the commission and are reticent to offer a conjunction let alone at this early stage of a listing.  Even then, they are likely to pass up a conjunction with another agency and risk losing a sale and in time, perhaps the listing when they fail to sell the property to one of the clients on their own books.

Not in this case however.  Chris Sharpe and Chris Allen were wonderful and obviously out there working for their seller (isn’t that what is supposed to happen?).

Even though I work with another agency I really felt part of their team that day.  The communication was swift and professional and the negotiations were seamless and stress free for all parties.  The buyers got a wonderful home that ticked all the boxes and I had great fun working with both the agents and the buyers and got to know a lot more about the Tewantin market again. 

At the very same time as this story was playing out I was working with another client – a local builder seeking a renovator in Sunrise Beach (yes I had sold his house for him too).  I approached an agent about a particular property but the agent would not conjunct. “If he wants to see it he will have to come to me”. He even phoned the buyer direct and told the buyer the same thing.  “I won’t conjunct.  You want to see it you will have to see it with me” OMG!  How is this sort of behavior helping the Seller achieve a sale?  Result?  The buyer objected to being contacted by this agent and being spoken to in this manner and refused to view the property.

How is this sort of behavior going to get the owner a sale?  If a sale does eventuate is it going to be an easy sale?  Is the buyer going to want to work with that agent again? Buyers become Sellers and Sellers become Buyers.   That is why the most successful agents work purely on a referral and repeat business and other agents wonder what they do differently to make them so successful. The answer is obvious.  It boils down to simple co-operation, hard work and sharing. What goes around comes around. True?  More houses would get sold and everyone would benefit.

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Specialist versus Idealists

Unconditional cash offers for million dollar properties are nothing to sneeze at.

And they certainly don’t come around very often, especially for a home that’s not in the best condition and has been on the market for years.

Here is my dilemma - the owners want more, and I’m not talking $20,000 more, I am talking hundreds of thousands of dollars more!

To me, this is a no brainer – sell, sell, sell, and I have the facts to back up my advice!

Fact One - a house just up the road recently sold for just over a million - and it is in superb condition.

Fact Two – A nearby house, same street, in sparkling condition, originally went on the market a similar price, and has since dropped its price over hundreds of thousands of dollars to attract buyers and still hasn’t sold.

Fact Three – The cash buyers love this property, BUT there are plenty of others on the market in their price range and they want to buy, so…

Fact Four – If the owners accept the present offer they will achieve greater than a 150 per cent increase on their original investment.

It’s black and white to me – in today’s market, not two weeks from now - not a month from now – because markets can change, but on that day the price was right. Right price, cash offer, unconditional on an older house needing updating – these offers don’t come along very often.

Sometimes you may think you’re property is worth more, but today’s buyers have the advantage of the internet and all the data that comes through their research and because they know how much they have to spend they are focused on properties in a price range around those dollars. So if you’re thinking of selling your property may come up as one of many in that range.

In this case, the buyer is the specialists and the sellers are idealists, thinking that their property is worth X amount when the buyer knows its worth Y.

The old adage sometimes the first offer is the best offer, rings very true, the buyers have done their sums, done the research (as I've blogged about before in The Race is On) and know exactly where your property fits in the market on that day.

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Deni Castle Sells $15 million in Six Months

                    Noosa Heads, June 20, 2014: Long-time Noosa agent Deni Castle of Robert James Realty will close more than $15 million in property sales by the end of the 2013/2014 financial year.

Ms Castle said while the Noosa Market is strengthening, it is in the mid-range listings and anything in the lower ranges that are the attraction.

“From $300,000 up to $500,000 is a sales frenzy and the $600,000 to $800,000 range is ticking along quite nicely,” she said.

“Noosa in particular, has a high proportion of multimillion dollar properties and given the volume and price compared with the number of available buyers; they can take longer to sell.

“But recent sales prove the buyers are there if they see exceptional value.”

Ms Castle has already closed $10.5 million on a variety of sales since January 1, with contracts waiting to settle on over $5.5 million.

Sales have ranged from $390,000 for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with ocean views, to $1.25 million for an unadvertised beachside residence, and an array of properties in between.

In Sunrise Beach alone, Deni sold 10 properties and was responsible for 16.39 per cent of the suburb’s sales, which is a fantastic result considering statistics from RP Data show 72 properties are currently listed with 18 other agencies from within the area. Another Noosa agency came close, with eight sales, but the sales were split between five different agents (from within that agency).

Deni said July was already looking busy with five properties expected to settle and more in August and September, with new listings coming on to the market.

“I see the lower end’s base price moving upwards and the shortage of rentals coming through will gradually drive the property sale prices up again.”

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Why Should I Advertise My Property in the Newspaper?

Four inspections, two offers & one contract prior to internet listing

While we are advancing towards the online sphere in real estate advertising, there is still a lot to be said for print advertising.

Licensed Real Estate Agent Deni Castle said she was inundated with enquiry on a new listing at 462 Cooroy Noosa Road, Tinbeerwah after a half page advertisement/editorial in a local property magazine.

“We had our first enquiries on the day, and within a few days of the advertisement we had four inspections, two offers and one contract on the property,” she said.

“We didn’t even have it listed on the internet, proving there is still great value in the effectiveness in print advertising.”

Ms Castle added, while the property was under offer, the contract had not become conditional as yet and was welcoming further inspections on the property, which is ideal for those with the “spirit of adventure” and there is adventure a-plenty to be had at this Tinbeerwah acreage property.

In a delightful setting, amidst lawns and jacarandas, the home has been designed to accommodate the family and then some.

With four bedrooms, two living areas and wide decks at entry level that look out over the evergreen backdrop and a self-contained, one-bedroom flat downstairs, there is room for everyone – even a pony (maybe not on the deck)!

The thoughtful design ensures bedrooms, kitchen and living rooms all look out on to surrounding decks and gardens and the deck can be accessed from the master bedroom, kitchen and living areas.

If you need room for an extended family or a light-filled studio, the lower level accommodation will be perfect with an open plan kitchenette and lounge room, plus a bathroom and bedroom.

It has a great location too - close to everything, as Tewantin is just a 5-minute drive away and school buses stop to traffic students to school – even as far as Matthew Flinders College in Buderim.

Other features include ample storage space, 10,000litre rainwater tank, 2 bay carport, room to park your caravan, boat - even the semi-trailer.

Don’t be fooled by the picture perfect paradise - there is work to be done.  Some might describe the home as tired, needing TLC or updating.  But this once stunning property could be, with a little bit of effort (not a lot), a right stunner. 

At this price you will have the $$ to do so. 

Acreage, architecture and adventure what more could you want?  Come see for yourself. 

  Phone Deni Castle on 0419 627 767 for more information.

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Make sure you read our latest Sunrise Beach market report, everything seems to be really moving along in this area.

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They’re casing the joint! And they’re about to pounce.

Some sellers, and even some real estate agents, question the effectiveness of internet marketing. You put the listing on the net, great photos, great copy, it goes live and then… nothing.  You don’t hear anything immediately no phone calls, no emails… nothing.  So the advertising doesn’t work. It’s not effective.  A waste of money.  But is this the case?  Not necessarily so.

I can prove otherwise, well at least the buyers of a Noosa Springs property can.

  Last week a couple travelled from New Zealand to inspect a range of homes in Noosa Springs.  They had a good sample to choose from (they told me so).  I had 2 lovely properties for them to view.  Now their schedule was arranged so my properties were the last on the list to be seen.  Hmmm one does get edgy when that happens. Yes , truly!  In some cases buyers tire of looking or get confused with the array offered and may make an offer on a property before viewing all those waiting to be inspected. Luckily this was not the case with this delightful couple.  They were seriously keen to move into Noosa Springs and were probably responsible for about 25% of the “clicks” on Noosa Springs properties over the last 2 years (they told me so … again). Turns out they had been checking the market for several years and they’d had their eye on this particular property since it came on the market recently.

While the Buyers were serious about living in Noosa Springs they did not “make a move” to view properties until they had sold their property in New Zealand and it had gone unconditional.

Indeed it wasn’t until they were almost packed and ready to move with the money in the bank that they phoned me (and other agents), to start their search for their next home.

I do love “homeless people”.  Don’t you? True the furniture was in a container and the dogs were restless.

The property industry has changed dramatically over the past decade. Gone are the days of buyers leisurely walking along the street browsing properties in a real estate agent’s front window.  Gone too are the days where the real estate agent is seen as the local expert.  Today’s buyers are substantially more educated. They have statistics, videos, google maps, bank data etc literally swamping the internet as well as print media and television shows giving advice and information.  Today’s buyers are also more mobile and can access every bit of information about a property from their car!  Yes via the Internet, they can sit outside your house and view a floorplan, the price you paid for your property, what the back garden looks like and even what the neighbour’s house sold for on their smart phone, tablet or lap top computer.

Realestate.com.au has proven statistics showing 88 per cent of property transactions are researched online, making Internet marketing the smart, cost-effective choice.

So, just because you are not getting a lot of interaction on your property from the net or other forms of advertising doesn’t mean you are not loved.  It means they may be adoring you from afar and are waiting for the right time to pounce.

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Noosa Sound Real Estate Market Report Welcome to the latest Market Report for the Noosa Sound area. While I sell properties all over Noosa, this report provides a comprehensive overview of this prestigious estate.

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Welcome to Deni Castle Noosa Real Estate's latest Market Report for the Noosa Waters area. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the prestigious Noosa Waters estate, delivering market knowledge to readers, giving greater confidence and control in achieving research, investment and selling goals.

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The Shopping Trolley

When is the last time you went shopping loaded up the shopping trolley and traipsed over to the checkout with $xx in your pocket only to be told that the total of the purchases is $xx+xxx?

Shock! Horror!  Embarrassing! There is a line of shoppers queued up behind you. They are getting impatient!  They sense there is a holdup in the queue! What do you do?  Decide immediately to divide the lot in half and give one half back to the cashier? Put it all back in the trolley and edge past the line of smirking shoppers to return some to the shelves?  Leave the cashier with the lot and run off?  Start tallying up and sorting carefully through the items much to the dismay and loud murmurs of the patrons?  Or do you say well I only have $180, that’s what I think this is worth and that’s all I am going to pay!  How successful would you be? What would the cashier do?  Agree?  Call the manager?  The odds are that you won’t get very far.

Then why do so many buyers try it on when buying a home?  Why try to rationalise an irrational offer with, “I need this much to pay for transfer duty, to pay for the removalists etc so that’s all I can pay for the property”?

This is what happens on a daily basis in real estate.

So many people go “real estate shopping” in a price range well above their budget in the hope they may snap up a bargain. 

Yes I know you are surprised, but it does happen and it happens often.

Picture the scenario.  A well presented property at a good price, acknowledged by all as showing excellent value.  The potential buyer also acknowledging that it is excellent value for money and then makes an offer so far below the asking price (in this actual situation - a six figure amount below the list price), as to leave the Seller scratching his head wondering where the buyer got the price point and, setting seeds of doubt in his mind regarding the real value of his property.

The buyer failing to snag a bargain moves on to repeat the scenario elsewhere.

Sure there are times when buyers will purchase a property for a steal and a list price may have some “breathing room”, but expecting a massive discount on a home already recognised as having exceptional value by the potential purchaser is really a bit cheeky.

I welcome comments from both buyers and sellers!

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So you’ve exhausted all your avenues to sell your house, or you think you’ve exhausted all of them.

I have one more option for you, its feng shui and I’ve seen it work!

In fact, I think it is a valuable tool, so much so that a few years ago I held Feng Shui seminar at Noosa Springs to help sellers present their home for sale.

The ancient art of feng shui has many tips to help sell your home and will save you money and time.

So, if you are thinking of putting your property on the market, or have been trying to sell your house for a while now, here are some easy tips to get the energy moving.

Go Outside your home, whether it be a unit, townhouse or house - whatever it is you are selling, and look at it from a bit of a distance. Close your eyes tightly for a moment and open them and quickly make note of all the thoughts and first impressions about your house that come to mind in the first couple of minutes. Don’t get defensive about the information; the more open you are to criticism, the better off you will be when presenting your house. You might think the big purple statue looks cool by your front door, but potential buyers, however, might not appreciate it. As with every sale, knowing how to sell your house is about selling a specific emotion, rather than the commodity itself. Be very aware of the quality of energy at the main entrance; it needs to be fresh and inviting.

  Go Fresh & Green. Invest in some landscaping! This will increase the value of your property, as well as attract better quality energy to your home. If you live in an apartment or townhouse you may not have many (if any) outdoor areas to work on, so focus on the main entrance. Invest in a tall lush plant, or display a vase of fresh cut flowers, have good lighting and beautiful art. Create a spacious feel with the strategic feng shui placement of mirrors (but not facing the front door because it bounces good energy away) and perhaps refresh the wall colour.

  Less is More. When you shop for anything - clothes, appliances, food - it helps to see the item in action. If you sample specific food, you are more inclined to buy it. The same with clothing – a beautiful dress looks much better on a mannequin than on a rack with all the others. You see and touch it - experience it, and probably want to buy it. But you wouldn’t want to pay full price for a used item. The same goes with a house sale - the less personal, or “used “you make your house look, the better. Show how the space can be used, but with a minimalistic look and hide your personal items. Make the kitchen smell and look good, but take it easy with displaying items on the benches.

  Create Good Energy. Most importantly, be aware of the very important feng shui energy triangle when getting ready to sell your house. The energy in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom will either make or break the house sale. Buyers need to know they will sleep, eat and unwind well if they choose to buy your home. Treat the imagination of your potential buyers with respect: know how to ignite it, know how to sustain it throughout your home. But know when to step back and let the buyers take it from there.

  And how about this little gem? If your house is north facing then you should paint your front door black or blue. There are so many things worth talking about, that in fact we will!

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The race is on!

The beauty contest and the price war!

             In previous times buyers and sellers relied on real estate agencies to provide them with an overview of current market conditions.

Today’s buyers are privy to a wealth of information on the current market status thanks to organisations like RP Data and the Australian Bureau of Statistics who record and release information to the public.

This can make my job challenging.  Why?  When an article is published saying home prices are on the way up and backed up with information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics some people hear what they want to hear and extrapolate what they want from the data. 

It’s not too long before I have someone telling me prices have increased by xx% (in Noosa), their property is priced too low and perhaps they should increase the list price.

Actual sales results and current market conditions in the Noosa area and recommendations from decades of experience selling real estate in Noosa go unheard as a seller rattles off ABS figures reporting a growth of about 3 per cent, pointing to a booming market.

The problem is, most of this information is based on capital city markets and rarely portrays an accurate view of what is happening in the regional areas.

A more accurate way to define what is happening locally, would be to have a close look at the regional statistics pertaining to the Sunshine Coast and, in particular Noosa.  Statistics supplied by RP Data etc are very useful but like all data it has to be timely and relevant.  Sales statistics can have a time-lag in some cases several months can pass before results are published.  Combining that information with current activity in the market place – being there - talking with numerous buyers, those who have sold recently, builders, sales colleagues, valuers, financial institutions, building and pest inspectors, local business people those involved in the industry can assist in piecing together a timely relevant picture of our local/regional market.

So what is happening in the local market?  Properties are definitely selling.  Buyers are definitely more willing to put their hands in their pockets to secure a property but it is definitely not a “global” Seller’s market.  Certain property types, price ranges and particular residential areas are selling better/attracting more buyers than others

Sunrise Beach House Sale by Price (2013)

          What is selling? Properties priced between $401,000 and $750,000.  But, to get a good result (short time on market and a good price) the buyer still wants value for money.  Your property has to be seen to be the most attractive property on the market (yes even the classic renovator has to be the best looking of the renovators out there), and it has to be seen to be the best value property on the market among its competitors or it will sit there until it does.  So it is a price war, but it’s mixed with a beauty contest – the prize being a sale.

People are seeking not only the best-valued property, but the most attractive as well. You can’t just slap a For Sale sign on a property that is not presented well and expect it to sell for a premium price.

Buyers still want value for their money and so will you when you come to buy.

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Would you like to guess the percentage of oldies and grandparents who use the internet regularly? 

Many think the internet is just for young people, but this is not so. 

65% of internet users are over 35, and 40% are under 50. 

With so many people travelling and working interstate and overseas the internet has become an easy and economical means of keeping in touch.  So you will find grandparents rate as among the highest users, regularly on the net talking with their grandkids and absentee children.

I attended a realestate.com.au seminar last month, and the topic (obviously) was the internet and how the web is used by people interested in the real estate market, whether they be sellers, buyers, real estate agents, tenants, in fact most facets of the community with an interest in real estate.

In particular, the seminar focused on how buyers and sellers use the internet and what we as agents should know to ensure we continue to follow and utilise best practice strategies when listing, promoting and selling a property. 

A startling point they mentioned was that in 10 years time half of the Fortune 500 companies won’t exist. Such is the potential for change the internet wields.

We were told realestate.com.au spends a lot of time (and money), researching their consumers’ behaviour.

1.9 million buyers are registered for property alerts on their website.  This figure does not vary greatly throughout the year nor is it “seasonal” as it only fluctuates between 5 and 7%.

24% of people viewing Queensland listings don’t even live in the state (another reason why internet listings are so important)!

Another big change is in how users are accessing the net.  Mobility is the key word.

Did you know?: 

71% of internet users access the net via their smart phone? 

88% of buyers do their research online?  

Plus, a massive 432,000 properties are shared each month between internet users.

And, mobile users are 10 times more likely to save a property than a desktop user. 

  In today’s market the internet has replaced the shop front.

Where once you would go to the real estate office and browse the window cards, you now go to the website.  Mobile APPs such as the ones designed specifically for Robert James Realty are like a sign, giving the buyer flexibility to view everything about a property in an instant.

Here’s another cool idea - did you know if you are selling your home you can go on to realestate.com.au and ‘like’ your property ad so it goes to your facebook page? From there your friends can repost it to their friends, and so on.  Who knows, one of those people in the network may be the one to buy your property. 

Today’s seller must have a broad marketing mix.  Yes print media is important and so is signage, but the dominant and most economical tool by a long shot is the internet.

  More interesting statistics…

Robert James Realty Noosaville had 190,642 photos viewed in the past 30 days on realestate.com.au – 64% were female, and 36% were male. 

The bigger the photos the more views the listing will get. 

Research by realestate.com.au of the retinal behaviour of buyers indicates that if a viewer likes the photos then they’ll look at the price, and then the address.

  Warning… Properties should always display an address. Did you know properties that don’t have addresses don’t upload to mobiles or APPS, nor do they appear on CommBank’s web site?  So properties without an address are not being seen by over 80% of buyers.

Buyers also tend to skip over properties that don’t have a price. Statistics suggest:

91% of people will overlook a property without a price.

52% of all users refine their search by price.

33% refine by property type (ie house, unit).

The most popular words people search by are:  kitchen; pool; duplex; waterfront; granny flat; swimming pool; beach; brick and investment.

Selling a property has always been about the 4 P’s- Position, Presentation, Promotion and Price. Now, more than ever, it has never been more important. 

In the era of the world wide web - good presentation, excellent photography, descriptive text, as well as providing the price and address of the property are extremely important! 

We know how buyers read a page and a property on the net but did you know: 

Only 34.8% will search as far as the second page of their search results.

Only 15.7% go as far as page 3; 9.3% go to page four; 5.7% go to page 5;

AND only 1% go to page 9. 

But 100% start at page 1. 

When talking selling strategy with my Sellers I always recommend as a marketing mix of print, internet, signage and social media.  The very minimum internet listing size I suggest on realestate.com.au is a highlight listing.  

The statistics above speak for themselves … the bigger the advertisement, the higher the ranking on the page, the more viewers and views. Now what was the percentage of buyers who reach page 5?  Aaah yes. The percentage on page 1.  Hmmm.

Times have changed.  It’s not just about putting up a sign and a photo in the shopfront window anymore.  If you decide to take the control of the marketing from your agent you may think you’re saving money, but in today’s market this will definitely not be the case. 

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Noosa Heads Real Estate March Market Update

If you have an interest in the Noosa Heads real estate market, I hope you find my latest report useful. Please follow the link.

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Noosa Real Estate eMag

Welcome to the latest Market Report for the Sunrise Beach, Sunshine Beach and Castaways Beach areas. While I sell properties all over Noosa, this report provide Read more about sunrise, castaways, deni, december, median and noosa.

This link will take you to my new Noosa Real Estate eMag, which has a focus on Sunrise Beach, Castaways Beach and Sunshine Beach. Enjoy!

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Tell it like it is!

Why do some people not tell it like it is?

A market report I received in my post box recently stated, and I quote “….a buyer stampede in a market that is supposed to be flat”

The report goes on to describe the following as a huge success story/a buyer stampede/a surge of sales.  You be the judge.

Facts stated in the report included:

1) Receivers engaged to sell 24 homes in the resort in 2010 – (note 2010)

2) “It was slow going at first – a sale rate of less than one per month for the first 14″  (Now I read that as it took more than 14 months to sell the first 14).

3) “Suddenly the final 9 rushed out the door in a single week…. buyers jumped in when they saw them disappearing”.

5) “Incredible value” (Must be for such an immediate turn of fortune).

All the above points are true but, why not say it like it is.  The properties initially were marketed at over $1 million in 2005 (and some past sales achieved then were over $1million), but is this really “the latest success story”?

Does a drop in the list price of a property of more than $1million as has occurred here suggest incredible value, poor due diligence, wrong advice?

No doubt people were “eyeing them off &/or watched them disappearing” .  The properties were now reduced to a price & being “marketed” heavily between $380,000 and $450,000 and still didn’t sell immediately.

Does the above sound like a “flat market”/a success story?

I guess the good thing is that they have sold.  But dear agents, tell it like it is.  Don’t beat on your chests & describe this as “the latest success story”.  It is not.

Please, tell the Sellers the truth.  Tell them that not all areas are “hot”.  Tell them that some areas & property types are in a slow market & some are still “flat” & some have to sell way below replacement value to attract a buyer.

Tell them that situations such as the above may impact on how the banks will perceive the value of their home should a buyer approach the bank for finance to purchase it.  Tell the Sellers that if they want to sell then they will have to be aware of the types of property that are actually selling (units, townhouses, renovators, vacant land, waterfront).  Tell them what prices are being achieved.  How their property compares to those properties actually sold.  How long they can expect to have their property on the market particularly if they are determined to list at a their price regardless of your advice to the contrary.  And do provide your future Vendor with examples of recent sales & a comparative market analysis to justify your rationale.

We all like to share our successes but let’s keep them simple, timely & true. 2010 through to 2012 is great for perserverence but hardly a Noosa success story.

I welcome your comments.

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I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours

Termites/white ants are such a pest.  I have seen too many contracts cancelled with the buyers citing issues with the building and pest report as the rationale for cancelling these contracts. 

Apparently I am not the only agent in Noosa to be experiencing this.  Quite a few real estate agents on the coast are reporting similar incidences.  But I have to admit this sort of thing has not happened more than half a dozen times in my experience and I have sold over 1500 properties.

Is it a question of the properties now coming on the market being in poor condition?  Are the building inspectors getting tougher?  Are Buyers more particular?  Is it all of these?

Try as I might to encourage my Sellers to organise a pre-sale building & pest inspection for their property, 8 times out of 10 owners will waive or ignore this advice & not spend the couple of hundred dollars it costs for the inspection.  “It’s up to the Buyer to get the report”, most Sellers will say.

By law, when you sell a car here in Queensland, indeed throughout Australia you have to have a current  “road worthy” certificate. to present to a potential purchaser.  Any faults found must be fixed prior to sale & the certificate presented with the vehicle.  Why won’t Sellers have their property inspected prior to listing for sale?

I wholly endorse having a building & pest inspection undertaken prior to putting a house on the market.

The outcome really is a win/win for Sellers because they will know if there are issues that need to be addressed prior to placing the property for sale or, if they opt not to remedy items pointed out in the report they can acknowledge these issues upfront to potential Buyers, address them by reducing the list price or factor in the costs to remedy when negotiating the final sale price.

Another reason it is beneficial to have a pre-sale building & pest report is to make sure there are no “surprises” when it comes to that all important inspection or have sleepless nights ”sweating on the outcome”.

A pre-sale building & pest report undertaken by the Seller can generally mean peace of mind when they do get a Contract on their property.  Yes, in most cases Buyers will get their own building & pest inspection & I do encourage this.

When the Buyer has the property inspected the Seller can be quitely confident that they are not likely to be confronted with a report that either sees the buyer cancelling the contract because of a negative report or having to negotiate thousands of dollars off the purchase price.  If a contentious issue does arise the Seller has the report & their own inspector to refer back to.

Just 3 weeks ago, I had a Buyer who cancelled a Contract.  Only 30 minutes later, his solicitor sent a fax to say the Buyer was prepared to enter a new Contract on the same property for $40,000 less than the original purchase price!

The Seller was shocked (so was I), that there could be so much wrong with the property that was not immediately evident.  The buyer was in attendance at the inspection as was one of my team who was there on behalf of the Seller & to see if any major issues became evident.  During the inspection, there were no immediate concerns about termites raised by the inspector or the Buyer.

The property was elevated (on steel posts) with the garage the only part of the house touching the ground & that was on a concrete slab.

When the Sellers, post the sale cancellation, had a pest inspector come to do a pest treatment (as per the recommendation of the report), the inspector found no evidence of termites & was somewhat dubious of the company who had undertaken the inspection for the Buyer (having worked for them in the past).

Not only did he dispute the findings of the report, the report wrongly described the house as a unit (true).

Now, the question is: was the report incorrect?  Was the pest control fellow engaged by the Sellers to treat the property mistaken; or was it a case of wrong property/wrong report or all of the above?

No matter, it was a very expensive experience for the Sellers to the tune of more than half a million dollars.  A pre-sale building & pest report for a couple of hundred of dollars would have given the owners & their solicitor an opportunity to question or contest the Buyers’ report.

Yes, the Terms & Conditions of sale here in Queensland require the Buyer to furnish a copy of the building & pest report in the case of an unsatifactory inspection & those terms & conditions of sale also say a buyer must act reasonably but….

In the second case that I experienced in the last few weeks, the Buyers expressed concerns about one – only one item from the report & requested a more ”invasive inspection” which the owners readily granted but, the inspector acknowledged that it was unlikely that there would be any pests to be found but, the Buyers suddenly cancelled the Contract & would not be drawn into the specifics that caused them to cancel it.  A distressing time of course for the elderly & infirm Sellers.

These same Buyers reported prior to viewing properties with me that they had also withdrawn from an earlier contract with another agency on the coast citing an unsatisfactory building & pest report.  I wonder if they have purchased yet.

Again, if the owners had a pre-sale inspection report…. Need I say more?

I welcome your comments

[denicastlenoosa]

  Newton’s Theory of Relativity

No. I’m not getting scientific about property sales, although they are mathematical. You’ve got to know the market and position the property correctly in that market. It still boils down to the three ‘P’s’:

·         Position

·         Presentation

·         Price

I’m referring to a property that’s been on the market for a relatively short period of time, 80 people have inspected it and no offer has been forthcoming. What’s wrong?

Is it Price? Is it Presentation? Is it Position? Or a combination of these?

Price can’t be an objection - if this was the case, so many people wouldn’t have viewed the home. And I know it isn’t presentation, because there have been numerous comments on how beautifully it is presented. So it has to be Position.

The common negative is too much road noise, yes – Position! The home has a major road adjacent to the back fence.

Now it’s not about not about the old “let’s reduce the price” - it means that something is not right in the equation.

Now, we can’t change the position, that’s a given and the presentation is fabulous. So what are the options?

1.       Wait until the buyer who has no issue with road noise comes along? For example, I did sell a property on a busy road to someone migrating to Noosa from central London. He said: “Noise, what noise? This isn’t noise.”

But how long do we wait to get that buyer? To shorten the timeline you have to spread the message far and wide. This costs money and time. If you do decide to wait, it will likely end up costing you in time, money, mortgage repayments and ongoing maintenance. Maybe we need another P – for Patience!

2.      Remove the objections. In this case by reducing the road noise. Options include double glazing, planting established trees etc. Which in the end may work out to be the same cost as a price reduction.

What then? The last option may be to consider a price reduction.

3.       Reducing the price of the property to a point where the road noise does not become an issue. For sure road noise won’t a factor at $600,000, or $700,000. But it may be at $800,000. This is where mathematics comes in. It’s a fine line between the right price and the wrong price. It could be just a matter of $10,000 to $20,000 for a sale, or no sale.

It all depends on the variables – doesn’t it? If your property is not selling, and you’ve had a number of buyers through, what’s the problem? Work out the issues. What are they? And how do you overcome them? If we can’t physically remedy the problem, then a reduction in price may make the issue disappear. Think back to when you bought the property; did you negotiate it down because of the same issue? (EG road noise?) Which meant you got great value for money. In order to get to the negotiation stage in a sale you may need to consider this as well.

I admit it’s a hard one.

 If you’ve got a property with a potential ‘P’ problem(s), I’m happy to talk to you about ways to negate it/them.